Geek Love
by DizzyDrea
Summary: G Callen was an enigma, wrapped in a mystery and dripping with sweat, and he'd never looked better. And while Nell might have thought so before this morning, she now knew he had a heart of gold buried under that tough-guy shield he wore. Part six of Scenes From an Accidental Courtship.


Title: Geek Love  
Author: DizzyDrea  
Summary: G Callen was an enigma, wrapped in a mystery and dripping with sweat, and he'd never looked better. And while Nell might have thought so before this morning, she now knew he had a heart of gold buried under that tough-guy shield he wore.  
Rating: T  
Spoilers: Neighborhood Watch  
Author's Notes: It took me two months to write this. /hangs head/ I had absolutely no idea how to write the post-ep for Neighborhood Watch. I mean, that dating profile was the perfect plot bunny, but the darned thing crawled under the couch and refused to come out. For two months! I'm going to kill the muse, I swear. Oh, and just so you know, I've fudged the dates a little. Technically, this episode aired on May 8 in the US, and The Avengers premiered on May 4. So, we're just imagining that the episode took place the week before, okay? Okay.  
Disclaimer: NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles and all its particulars are the property of CBS, Paramount, Donald P. Bellisario, Belisarius Productions, Shane Brennan, Shane Brennan Productions, and a lot of other people who aren't me. I am doing this for fun and for practice. Mostly for fun.

~o~

Eric Beal sat at his terminal in Ops, squirming in his seat. His eyes kept darting between the sliding doors and the terminal next to him, impatience oozing from every pore of his body.

He'd noticed it immediately upon arriving in Ops that morning. There, sitting on the keyboard was a plain white envelope with a single word printed in a neat hand: Nell.

He was dying to know what was inside, but what he'd really wanted to know was who'd left it for her. He'd tried checking the logs to find out who had come in early this morning, but he'd only found the usual early risers. He'd even gone so far as to check the video surveillance for Ops. He hated that every move he made was recorded, but there were days like today that he didn't mind so much. Except that there was no one suspicious on the surveillance footage, either. No one who didn't belong.

And, he'd been particularly irritated to notice, the envelope had just seemed to appear out of thin air. One moment it wasn't there, and the next it was.

He knew he worked with a building full of intelligence operatives and undercover specialists, but he'd expected to find _something_. Whoever it was, they were good.

So, here he sat, glued to his terminal until Nell came in and found the envelope. He couldn't explain why he needed to know, except that he was intensely curious. If Nell Jones had an admirer (and by extension, if he had a competitor) he wanted to know who it was.

Just then, the doors swooshed open, and the diminutive red-head charged in, arms loaded with files that she dumped rather unceremoniously on the table in the middle of the room.

Eric's glance darted one final time to the keyboard before he got up and wandered over to the console.

"What's all this?"

Nell huffed. "Today. They pick today to turn in their backlog of expense reports."

Eric hid a smirk. "Well, you've been asking for them for two weeks."

"And Hetty's been asking for them for two weeks before that!" she barked. Eric flinched, and she glanced over at him and cringed. "Sorry."

"You want some help?" he asked.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I just have to go through and make sure they're all accurate and compliant. No sense both of us going cross-eyed."

"Okay," he said, shrugging.

He glanced back at the envelope on her keyboard before looking back to the pile of folders on the console. He saw her lean out and look behind him. Turning around, he followed her eyes to the terminal beside his. When he looked back and met her gaze, she had one eyebrow lifted, and the message was clear.

"What?"

"What's that?"

"What's what?"

Nell rolled her eyes. "That envelope. What did you do?"

Eric raised his hands in mock surrender. "Don't look at me. It was here when I got in this morning."

"And you don't know who left it?"

He could hear the disbelief in her tone. He shrugged. "No."

"And you didn't check?"

He could feel the blush creeping over his too-pale features as his eyes darted around the room. He mumbled his reply, suddenly embarrassed at just how far he'd gone to figure it out.

"What was that?"

"I couldn't see who it was," he said, louder this time. "I checked the surveillance footage all the way back to last night, but—whoever it was, they knew where the cameras are."

"Well, duh," Nell said.

This time Eric rolled his eyes. He tucked his hands into his pockets. "So, you going to open it?"

She made a show of considering it, but he knew she'd be just as curious as he was. Right on cue, she sidled up to the terminal and plucked the envelope off the keyboard, her eyes skimming over the single word on the front. A small smile broke over her face, as if she'd recognized the writing. He wasn't sure how she'd know; he hadn't even recognized who's writing it was.

He took a few tentative steps, getting close enough to see what was inside as she ran her finger under the flap and broke the seal. She tugged out the single sheet of white paper, unfolding it carefully.

Inside were two tickets. Eric's eyes went wide. Two tickets to opening night of _The Avengers_. He'd wanted to go ever since the premier date was announced, but those tickets were impossible to get, and he'd tried everything. Nell had talked about going too, but she hadn't had any more luck than he'd had. It hadn't helped that they'd been up to their eyeballs on a case when the tickets had first gone on sale, but that was the price they paid for the work they did, and Eric had long ago accepted it.

Her smile grew as her eyes skimmed over the short message. By now Eric was dying to know who knew her so well that they'd bought her tickets to the one movie she'd talked about seeing. Not that their conversations in Ops were exactly private, so anyone with two ears could have overheard, but it bothered him a little that someone else had gotten her such a personal gift.

Okay, it bothered him more than a little, but he wasn't going to admit that out loud.

"So, you going to share with the class?" he asked instead.

"Nope," she said.

She quickly folded up the note and the tickets, tucking them back into the envelope and then tucking that envelope into her pocket. She moved back to the console and scooped up the files she'd dumped earlier, then turned and left the room, leaving Eric standing in the middle of Ops, totally in the dark.

"Huh," he said.

He let out a heavy sigh and went back to work. She'd cave eventually, if he pestered her enough. And that was actually more fun than her just telling him anyway.

Eric turned his attention back to the surveillance data he'd been processing, one small corner of his mind working on ways to get Nell to give up her secret admirer.

~o~

Nell hovered just inside the door to the gym, watching the way Callen worked the heavy bag. She could see the sweat pouring out of him, so he'd been at it for a while. His muscles bunched and coiled under the tank top he was wearing, accentuating his lean form and the power that his usual casual demeanor hid so well.

G Callen was an enigma, wrapped in a mystery and dripping with sweat, and he'd never looked better. And while she might have thought so before this morning, she now knew he had a heart of gold buried under that tough-guy shield he wore.

She'd recognized his handwriting on the envelope almost immediately after spotting it, and it had sent a little thrill through her. He'd never left her notes before, but then she supposed that they weren't really doing things the normal way either. Whatever this was between them, it was unlike anything she'd ever experienced, but she wouldn't trade it for anything.

The note had contained only two lines:

Take a friend and have some fun.

There'll be a quiz after.

It hadn't been signed, but she'd seen enough of his reports to know what his handwriting looked like, which confirmed who her benefactor was. She just wasn't sure how he'd figured out that she even wanted to go see the movie. As far as she remembered, he hadn't been in Ops any of the dozen times she and Eric had discussed it. And that information wasn't in the dating profile that her sister had so lovingly crafted for her (an embarrassment she wasn't sure she'd ever live down).

Of course that didn't mean he couldn't find out another way. He was, after all, a highly trained intelligence-gathering asset of the US Navy. If he couldn't figure out what movie his favorite girl wanted to go see, he should probably consider retiring.

She could feel her cheeks burn with a faint blush at the thought that she was his favorite girl. He'd never said as much, but she knew just the same, and it warmed her from the inside out.

Shaking herself out of her momentary reverie, she approached Callen cautiously, swinging around in a wide arc until she was standing opposite him, directly in his line of sight. She knew when he caught sight of her; he grabbed hold of the bag and slowed its swinging.

Stepping away from the bag, he reached for a towel to dry his face. "Something you needed, Ms. Jones?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Just to see you, Mr. Callen."

"Ah," he said, and she didn't miss the knowing smirk on his face. "Well, here I am. What can I do for you?"

She stepped closer, her gaze flicking to the doors before returning to meet his warm blue gaze. "How did you know?"

"How did I know what?" he asked, quirking his eyebrow.

Another step and she was just inches from him. "How did you know that I wanted to see _The Avengers_?"

His smirk grew into a smile. "A little bird told me."

"Does this little bird have a name?"

"Maybe," he said, shrugging, clearly enjoying the moment.

"But you're not going to tell me."

"Nope."

She narrowed her eyes a little. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Her breath caught in her throat at the sparkle in his eyes. He hitched his hands on his hips, a slow grin working across his face, but kept his peace.

"So, were you planning on going with me?" she asked.

"Sam and I are going to see it next week," he said. She felt a stab of disappointment at that, but tried not to let it show. "Take Kensi. She needs to get out, and I have a feeling you'll enjoy admiring all that beefcake on screen without any men around."

Nell snorted, but she couldn't disagree.

"Besides," he said, and if possible his voice got lower, more intimate, sending shivers through her. "I'm sure you'll tell me all about it. After."

She raised her eyebrow once again, his own eyebrow a mirror of hers. Oh, the implications. She met his gaze, her eyes never wavering from his except to flick to the doors once more, just in case. Then her gaze dropped to his lips, full and inviting. His tongue peaked out, grazing over his lips, leaving a moist trail in its wake.

Nell stepped into him, barely brushing against his chest. She pushed up onto her toes, resting her hands on his well-muscled chest. But even on her toes like this, she couldn't quite reach. Thankfully, Callen was on the same page. He bent down slightly, meeting her halfway.

She pressed her lips to his in a barely-there kiss, but that first touch of her lips to his sent fire racing through her blood. She curled her fingers into his shirt even as he tangled the fingers of one hand into her hair, his other hand at her hip, holding her in place as he swept his tongue through her mouth. She melted into the kiss, surrendering herself to him.

Long seconds passed as she reveled in the heat building between them like some sort of feedback loop. Finally, she felt him pulling back, though he didn't go far. He leaned his forehead against hers as they both struggled to catch their breath.

"I should—" she said, eyes closed, uncurling her fingers from his shirt to point over her shoulder with her thumb.

He lifted his hand from her hip and pointed over his own shoulder. "That way, actually."

"Right," she said.

She dropped back to her feet, but didn't move away. He leaned in, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Have fun at the movie," he said quietly, finally meeting her gaze. His blue eyes sparkled in the late day sun. "And remember, quiz later."

"I won't forget," she said. She pushed up and stole one last chaste kiss before turning and escaping the room.

She stopped just outside the door to the gym, leaning against the wall, hand to her chest. She couldn't believe she'd been that forward. She was usually a mess with men, especially men she really liked. And she never, ever made the first move.

"You okay, Nell?"

Her head popped up, finding Eric looking at her with concern writ large on his face.

"Yeah, I'm—I just—"

A knowing smirk crossed his face. "Have fun at the movie."

And with that, he wandered off. Nell watched him go, her eyes narrowing. Maybe he knew who her admirer was, and maybe he didn't, but right at that moment, she didn't really care. She'd kissed G Callen, and he'd kissed her back. She'd be doing good to remember her name, much less the movie tonight.

She shook her head, trying to clear it. She'd have to get her head back in the game. There was, after all, a quiz after the movie, and she didn't want to lose her geek cred by failing.

A smile stole over her lips as she headed for the bullpen. The whole team had been working extra hard, but Kensi Blye had had to put up with her partner in the same house for a week. The woman needed a night off, and Nell had just the tickets.

She might have to take notes, but she was going to enjoy the evening. Especially what came after.

~Finis

* * *

Author's Note Post Script:  
I've been trying to write this kiss for ages. This is actually the third story I've written featuring their first kiss. This is the first one I actually feel works. Don't know why it took so long, but I hope you enjoyed it just the same.


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